


Pride

by CaptainDemetrios



Series: Lead Balloon Squad (Clone Trooper Ocs) [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse fucks up your self worth and clones are super vulnerable to that, Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Self-Worth Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:42:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9193883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainDemetrios/pseuds/CaptainDemetrios
Summary: After being grabbed by his general, Commander Brick makes a decision that shocks his squad- and himself.





	

There were many ways to describe Commander Brick.

 

All clones had the same face, but Brick had a scar above his eye, where his head had collided with a console during a live round training exercise. He didn’t have any tattoos- he wasn’t as creative as Drake, with his scales, but he had the longest hair of the squad.

 

It was longer than most clones kept it, and tied back neatly. Many of his brothers teased him about it. Knight used to say Brick kept his hair longer than a jedi’s. 

 

The man that trained Brick, before he was assigned a real squad, called himself “one of the last true-blooded Mandalorians.” He would tell Brick and his other charges stories of warriors, stories they took strength and guidance from. 

 

Brick’s favorite was about a just warrior, a leader who knew no fear, who was unmatched in wisdom and strength, and whose most noted trait was that he never cut his hair.

 

There were many ways to describe Commander Brick; wise and strong fit well, and Brick was proud to know this for fact.

 

Proud was another word easily applied to the pilot commander.

 

He felt nothing as he turned on the electric shaver. He pulled his hair out of the tie and watched it fall down his shoulders. He ran a hand through it once. He took a breath, he put the razor to his head. 

 

He felt no pride in this act. He rarely felt pride anymore. Since General Ol’zabek came, he rarely felt proud, or strong, or wise. All of his thought and planning and drive, it all went to keeping his brothers from harm now. More so than before. A different kind of harm. 

 

It had to be him. If Ol’zabek was going to punish someone, it should be the commander of the squad. And Brick could take it. He was sure. He always did, took every hit, every burn. He withstood without a word every time the general grabbed his hair and forced him to his knees. 

 

Strands of hair rained down around him, into the sink and onto the floor. 

 

He used to model himself after a Mandalorian warrior, but now he didn’t deserve even a shadow of that title. A Mandalorian warrior wouldn’t allow himself to be treated like this. Even if it was the only way to protect his brothers.

 

Another pass over his scalp, more strands falling to the floor. Brick didn’t see himself in the mirror, only his mission. 

 

The squad woke to the low buzz of the shaver. They didn’t think anything of it- it was a common enough sound among clone quarters, after all. Drake rolled over on his cot with a groan, praying for another five minutes at least before Brick or Cane threw them all out of bed. He peaked open an eye to check his chances and scanned the room. Cane was still in bed, sound asleep. It must be earlier than Drake first assumed, but Brick wasn’t in bed, so…

 

Drake shot up straight so fast he hit his head on the upper bunk. That woke Ryder who looked over the side. 

 

“Hey, what the hell, Drake?” He hissed

 

“What’s Brick doing with a razor?” He rubbed his forehead and nodded towards the washroom where the sound of the shaver was coming from. 

 

“Shut up, he’s probably just shaving his face.”   
  
“Awful long time for that to be going off if he was shaving his already fairly clean face” Drake frowned and got out of bed. Ryder groaned and climbed down too.    
  
Cane sat up a little at that. “Will you idiots go back to bed…?”   
  
“Brick’s shaving his head.” Drake said. Cane frowned and sat up.

“What?”

 

“Allegedly.” Ryder corrected. 

 

Knight and Eddi were awake now too.

 

“That’s a load of bantha shit. He’d never cut his hair. I’m worried it’s gonna start dragging on the floor” Knight scoffed.

  
“Keep your voice down.” Cane hissed. “He’s our commander, we shouldnt be talking like this behind his back”

 

“About his hair? That isnt exactly treason, Cane” Knight rolled his eyes.

 

“For Brick it might as well be.” Drake said. “Which is why, I’m saying, it doesn’t make any sense that he’s shaving it!”

 

“We don’t know that he is.” Ryder said again.

 

They were trying to keep their voices to whispers, but it wasn’t working, and they were so involved in their disagreement that they didn’t notice the buzzing of the shaver had stopped.

 

They didn’t hear Brick step into the room.

 

“As long as you’re all up, we can start early.” He broke through the argument.

 

Everyone jumped to attention and turned to him-- and then immediately broke attention at the sight of Brick’s shaven head.

 

“What the pfassk?” Knight spoke first. Cane shot him a look and stepped forward, then seemed to change his mind and stepped back again.

 

“Commander, uh… are you… I mean, is everything alright..” He stumbled over himself. Drake elbowed him and stepped forward.

 

“What did you do?” Drake asked, direct, honest, calculated but without hesitation. The way Drake did everything, Brick thought fondly. 

 

“It was getting unmanageable.” Brick said, knowing he wasn’t convincing, knowing his squad wasn’t buying it. “It was barely regulation, and it was going to get caught in something. It was time for a change anyway.”

 

No one spoke. 

 

Brick had never lied to them before, so they didn’t know how to respond to an obvious one.

 

“Now, since you’re all up, get moving on the ship maintance. We need to be ready to fly out as soon as possible, go get moving!” Brick ordered, and they moved quickly.

 

Cane looked back at Brick before he left to follow the others.

 

Alone in the quarters once more, Brick ran a hand over his now smooth head. He checked the time- still a few hours before the general would be awake. Brick let his hand fall to his side again.

 

He was no Mandalorian warrior. He was no proud hero of wisdom and strength- he was a cheap imitation of a man who could be.

 

Clones had no use for pride. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Dont forget to comment!


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